Enda Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 22 hours ago, Farlz said: You know what, I really like what I'm seeing. I'm not expecting anything crazy next season and just staying up is a bloody good job but I really like what we're building towards. There's quite a clear plan and identity to our targets in that being young, comfortable on the ball and have plenty of room to improve are key attributes. I'm just really pleased we went up with Dean Smith in charge of the club. Nice post. I’ll add three positive things. 1. Steer saved us with penalty heroics but was very shaky in that away semi-final. Nerves got to him and he was miskicking it. Their fans noticed and were getting onto him about it. That said, I think himself and Kalinic (a well-respected international) are a good pair to compete for the number 1. This isn’t our weakest position by a long shot. We don’t need Heaton. 2. All indications are that Conor Hourihane is absolutely gunning to make it in the Premier League. I expect him to turn a few heads. 3. Nobody seems to discuss Jimmy Danger as the solution to our winger problem. I’d rather him than Jota right now. He has been of the top players in the ACN, and he will have the beating of many left-backs outside the top 7 teams. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 That team is exciting but jeez it’s so raw and that scares me a lot. We definitely need a solid bench with that first XI. I still don’t think it’s strong enough as a team, which worries me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonsi77 Posted July 11, 2019 Visiting Supporter Share Posted July 11, 2019 On 10/07/2019 at 21:47, AXD said: He was GK of the year in Belgium 2 years in a row and in Croatia before that. 2nd keeper in the world cup runner up team and he in fact was the number one after Subasic retired. Lost his place after his injury. so yeah, not highly rated Highest International experience is not high in value on this chat Kalisnic is far better than Steer, and he will show hes guality on the big stage where experience is number one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Villa Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 12 minutes ago, Jonsi77 said: Highest International experience is not high in value on this chat Kalisnic is far better than Steer, and he will show hes guality on the big stage where experience is number one. ^^ I like the optimism but everything points towards Kalinic not settling and wanting to move on, plus I remain unconvinced that he's got either the physical agility or mental strength to compete at the top level. We need a better keeper to push Steer and vice versa as the stats show a decent keeper can make all the difference if you plan on surviving in the Premier League.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villalad21 Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 Croatia could have a poor generation of keepers for all we know. All i can judge Kalinic on is when i've seen him play for Villa and he's been far from impressive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwivillan Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 35 minutes ago, Jonsi77 said: Highest International experience is not high in value on this chat Kalisnic is far better than Steer, and he will show hes guality on the big stage where experience is number one. People judging him on being awful for us. He barely got games for Croatia in 2018 that weren't meaningless friendlies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXD Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 6 hours ago, Kiwivillan said: People judging him on being awful for us. He barely got games for Croatia in 2018 that weren't meaningless friendlies Ok, so first you say he never became #1. Now the games he was in fact #1 were meaningless. They were nations league games against Spain and England, so not friendlies. I also don’t remember him being awful for us, he just didn’t stand out but had a horrible defence in front of him, something everyone agreed on. anyway, I’m not making him out to be the best GK ever. I just don’t want to write him off and splash some cash on another goalkeeper for the fun of it. Other positions are more important (DM !) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Is there actually that much difference between the bottom half of Premier League and top half of Championship? Players like Steer, Hourihane, Jota and Kodija might suprise us. Even Lansbury if he’s ever fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 9 hours ago, villalad21 said: Croatia could have a poor generation of keepers for all we know. All i can judge Kalinic on is when i've seen him play for Villa and he's been far from impressive. Nice to judge a player on 6 and a half games in a new country 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom13 Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 1 hour ago, Vive_La_Villa said: Is there actually that much difference between the bottom half of Premier League and top half of Championship? Players like Steer, Hourihane, Jota and Kodija might suprise us. Even Lansbury if he’s ever fit. Well yes because you're not just playing against teams in the bottom half of the Prem. I still agree that those players could pleasantly surprise us though. Think Lansbury could even be better suited to the PL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 2 minutes ago, Tom13 said: Well yes because you're not just playing against teams in the bottom half of the Prem. I still agree that those players could pleasantly surprise us though. Think Lansbury could even be better suited to the PL. We’re not but realistically they are our rivals next season to staying up. Games against bottom half teams will be 6 pointers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Is Kalinic part of the squad flying to the US? Any players left behind? I just wonder, if he gets some game time during preseason, maybe he shows some quality and we end up keeping him. Hasn’t really had time to prove himself here, I have no idea why (if) we are looking to sell him and whether or not he is unsettled. Steer came in when he was injured and maybe just (rightly) kept his place for solid & consistent performances, it would have been unfair to just drop him as soon as Kalinic returned to fitness and we were chasing promotion so wouldn’t have made sense to disrupt that by trying to reintegrate him. Foreign players tend to need time to adjust and gel with the team. Just don’t know what the actual situation is, I doubt anyone outside the club does. Not fussed if he leaves and is replaced, just wonder if he could still make an impact... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brummybloke Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Integration of all these new players will be massive job, hopefully 2 or 3 weeks of living and working together will get them all up to speed as we need as many points as possible from our first 10 league games. All very exciting and the mix of British and non British highly rated young players could secure our place in the premier league. Would like at least 1 player with more experience to keep heads calm when we are losing games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKP90 Posted July 12, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted July 12, 2019 Have to say I was worried at the sheer amount of work we had to do in the market a few weeks ago. Hats off, can anyone remember a more coherent and strategic acquisition policy than we’ve seen this year? I can’t. It’s all terribly exciting. We may not yet be world beaters, but it looks like there is a real plan in place and that we’ve done due diligence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villalad21 Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 (edited) I would start with Elmo and Hause actually. Having those old relations will be important. Don't do a Fulham and introduce a whole team all at once. Introduce them slowly. Edited July 12, 2019 by villalad21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osmark86 Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 good thing a lot of these new players will have time to get to know one another both on and off the pitch before the season kicks off. makes me slightly less worried considering there are so many new faces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 4 minutes ago, villalad21 said: I would start with Elmo and Hause actually. Having those old relations will be important. Don't do a Fulham and introduce a whole team all at once. Introduce them slowly. Fulham was all deadline day. We have pre season now with these players. Big difference. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted July 15, 2019 Author Share Posted July 15, 2019 Updated squad assuming the three deals mooted to complete this week happen. GK and another striker needed for me. Maybe another CM if Thor, Lansbury and Tshibola leave. GK Steer, Kalinic, Nyland RB Guilbert, Elmo, Bree LB Targett, Taylor CB Mings, Konsa, Engels, Chester, Hause RM Jota, Trezeguet LM El Ghazi, Green CM Luiz, Grealish, Hourihane, McGinn, Thor, Lansbury, Tshibola CF Wesley, Kodjia, Davis, RHM, Hogan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Still very worried our striker options are weak past an unknown Wesley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Wesley could easily be a flop as well. We definitely need another credible opinion up top before the season starts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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